Brake-operating apparatus



Jan. 6, 1931. N. A, cHRlsTENsEN 1,787,613

`BRAKE OPERATING APPARATUS Filed may 21', 19284 2 sheets-sheet 1 'V5/IM' ATTORNEIIS lNUENTOR. A

M Q y Q r Jan. 6, 1931. N. A. cHRlsTENsEN BRAKE OPERATING APPARATUS Fned May 21 1 928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1111711111912.V ha@ @LQ/ELM 7 M ATTORNEUS Patented Jan. 6, 1931 UlNiTED STTES PATENT FiCEV.

.NIELS A. CHRISTENSEN, F CLEVELAND, OHIO BRAKE-OPERATING APPARATUS Application filed May 21, 1928. Serial No., 279,338.

T he invention relates to brake mechanism continued'movement of the foot pedal may for automotive vehicles. be used to augment this power application or The general object of this invention is to may bc used alone in case the power source is provide brake-operating mechanism employnot available.

ing the general arrangement and combina'- Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1l 55 tion of elements of that of my prior United designates a brake cylinder having a piston States Patent No. 1,291,765, dated January 12 working therein and normally urged to a 21, 1919, but more particularly where the release position by a spring' 13, the front power vsource of braking pressure is obtained end of said cylinder being connected by a bythe suction or vacuum eect ofthe power pipe 14 to a valve casing 15 having valve 60 plant of the vehicle. mechanism therein controlling the connec- A further object of the invention is to protion of pipe 1liA either to atmosphere or with vide a. brake-operating mechanism of the the inlet manifold of the engine. type above described in which the valve .The brake cylinder 11 is bolted or other- 15 mechanism comprises a pair of leaf spring Wise suitably secured to a casing 16 which 65 or feather valves arranged in a novel inanin turn is adapted to be secured by brackets nei' to provide for connecting the brake cyl- (not shown) to the framework of the vehicle inder to engine suction or atmosphere, -or to chassis, said housing including a back plate move to a lap position when the brake is ap- Section Aand a removable housing section 17.

plied, The shafts 18 and 19 are suitably jour- 70 The invention further consists in the sevnalled in the casing. rIhe shaft 18 has a eral features hereinafter set forth and more lever arm 20 secured thereto, outside 'the casparticularly defined by claims at the concluing, and operatively connected by 'a link 21 Sion hereof, with the operators brake pedal (not shown) In the drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical secand has a lever arm 22 carrying a pivot pin tional view through brake-operating apparaor bolt 23 on vits free end, upon which a ius embodying the invention, the parts being floating lever` 24' 1s-p1voted intermediate its in a release position; y ends.

Fig. 2 is a detail front View of parts of the .The shaft 19 has a lever arm 26, outside apparatus; f saidcasing, connected to a brakerod or op- 90 Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the eiating member 27 which is adapted to be line 3-3 of F ig. 1; Connected in any suitable or known manner Fig. 4 is a. detail Sectional view taken on With the regular brake mechanism associatthe line L -L1 of Fig. 1g ed with the wheels of the Vehicle and a lever Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view through the iarm 28, inside the casing, connected at its valve mechanism showing the parts in an inout-er end by a p in 29 and a connecting-rod terinediate position; 30 with a Wristpin 31 carriedby the piston Fig. Gis a view similar to Fig. 5, showing 12, the end of said rod having a slot 32 the valve mechanism in power application formed therein top rovide a. lost-motion conposition; l nection between said lever and said piston. 90

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view through the The arm 28 is operatively connected by a valve mechanism, taken on the line 7 7 of link 33 with the inner or lower end 34 of Fig 1; the lever 24. The lever 24;- is limited in its Fig. 8 is a plan View of one of the valves; movement relative to the arm 22 by a pin 35 9 is a plan View of the other valve. secured to said arm and engageable with 95 As in my prior Patent, No. 1,291,765, the sides of a slot or hole 36in said lever 24. combination and arrangement of parts is such The valve mechanism includes a two-part that the first movement of the foot pedal by casing 15 suitably secured to the casing 16, the operator brings about the application of one of said parts 37 being provided with ports the power source to apply the brakes and a 39 and 40 and the other of said parts 38 with 10U interior 44 of the casing 16 which is either in lio direct communication with the atmosphere or is connected therewith by a pipe 45 leading to the crankcase of the engine. Control of these ports is effected by a pair of superimposed, spring leaf or plate valves 46 and 47, both of which are anchored -at one end y to the section 37 of the valve casing by screws 37', the valve 47v extending across the inner'flat face of the, casing and seating over the end 48 of the port 40, the valve 46 being movable to seat against the inclined seat 41 of the port 41, the 4casing section 38 being recessed to accommodate this movement. l

The valves are operated by a connection with the floating lever 24,* said lever being engageable with a plunger 52 operatively connected by a s ring 53, shouldered pin 54 working freely t irougli a hole 55 in valve 47 with the valve 46 and operatively connected with the valve 47 by the engagement of its head 56 with another plunger formed by a bored cap nut 57 through which the stem of plunger 52 Works, a sleeve 58 secured to said nut and carrying a tube 59 engaging said valve l47. This last-named plunger is preferably moved to a release position by a spring 60. The tube 59 has a shouldered end 61 held in engagement with the inner anged end of the sleeve 58 by a spring-.62 interposed between the end of said nut 57 and the inner end of said sleeve. The stem of the plunger 52, the spring 53 and pin 54 Work in the bore ofthe tube 59 and the sleeve 58 is guided in a tubular extension 63 ofthe casing section 38.

With this construction, when the operator steps on the foot pedal and thereby moves the -link 21'to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, the

first movement of said link swings arms 20 and 22 and rocks the shaft 18 in counterclockwise direction, 'the link 33 being then firmly held b the release springs o fthe brake system y the action of said springs restraining the movement of rod 27 and the levers 26 and 28, as will be readily underp stood by those familiar with this art, whereby that end of the link associated with the end 34 of the lever 24 forms a fulcrum for said lever which then, under the action of pin 35 moving with the arm 22, swings the upper end of said lever 24 tov-ward the right and into engagement with the plunger 52 moving it inwardly. Inward movemento the plunger 52 is transmitted by the spring 53 to the pin 54, which moves inwardly to move the valve 46 from the release position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig.

26 and rod 27 to apply the brakes.

5, thereby closing the release port 41. When this has taken placethe'spring 53 will be compressed to such an extent that the head 56 of said plunger engages the nut 57 of the second-described plunger when said second plunger will be moved forwardly againstthe pressure of spring60, the tubular stem 59 of this second plunger then moving valve 47 off its seat 48, as 4shown in Fig. 6, and establish- `ing communication between the ports 40 and 39 and thereby establish communication between the intake manifold and the brake cylinder, and air will be drawn out of the brake cylinder space by suction of the engine and thus move piston 12 forwardly and through rod 30, lever 28, shaft 19,' lever By interposing the spring 62 etween the tube 59 and the nut 57 relative movement of these parts can take place whereby an overrunning connection is provided that makes the opening movement of the valve 46 by the movement of the tube 59 independent of.a longer travel of the nut 57 and sleeve 58 under the action of lever 24, thereby relieving the parts of valve 46 and, tube 59 of undue Strains and permitting pin 35, contacting with opening 36, to take the strains exerted on the end of the push-pin 56 by the lever 24. If the operator keeps his .foot in a fixed position after this application has been made, the motion of the piston will, throughrod 30, arm 28, link 33 and lever 24, move the upper end of said lever 24 back slightly and this will allow spring 47 to seat and cut off communication between the ports 39 and 40, the valve being1 then in the lap position shown in Fig. 5, an

holdthe brakes applied in that position with the amount of pressure then existing but not open the release valve, and a further backward movement of the operators foot pedal will cause the brakes to be either wholly released or partly released in any position. In other words, with .the valve mechanism herein shown the brakes can be applied and released in any of the intermediate positions of the piston 12 and a further movement of the operators pedal will produce a further braking effect on a further increase of suction pressure. Furthermore, after the movement of the piston 12 by the ower source, a continued movement of the foot pedal and hence a continued forward movement of link 21 will produce 'a direct pull on the rod 27 and the brake mechanism,

the lost-moticn connection between rod 30 and arm 28 preventing any interference to this action and the manifold pressure remaining on.

On a release of the foot pedal the floating lever 24 is moved to a release sition under ythe action of the movement o the rod 27 to llt iency and the parts associated therewith move to releaseposition under the actionvof their springs. As soon as the valves 46 and 47 move to release position equilibrium of pressure is established between the space in front of the piston 12 and the space coniiectedwith atmosphere, including the casing 44, through ports 43, 41 and pipe 14, so that the piston 12 travels to a release position under the action of the spring 13.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement of parts except insofar as such limitations are included in the claims What I claim as my invention is:

1. In brake-operating mechanism for automotive vehicles, the combination with a brake cylinder and a pressure-responsive brake-operating member in said cylinder, of valve mechanism controlling the operation of said member comprising a casing provided with a release port, a suction inlet port and a brake cylinder port, a pair'of superimposed leaf spring valves mounted in said casing, one of said valves controlling said release port, the other of'said valves controlling said 4suction inlet port, the valve-operating means under the control of the operator for controlling the operation of said valves, said valveoperating` means being also connected with said member for establishing a lap position of said valves.

2. In brake-operating mechanism for automotive vehicles, the combination with a brake cylinder and a pressure-responsive brake-operating member in said cylinder, of valve mechanism controlling the operation of said member comprising a casing provided with a release port, a suction inlet port and a brake cylinder port, a pair of superimposed leaf spring valves mounted in said casing, one of said valves controlling said release port, the other of said valves controlling s aid lsuction inlet port, means normally urging i said valves to a release'position, valve-operating means under the control of the operator for first moving said first-named valve to close the release port and then moving said second-named valve to open said suction inlet port and having a connection with said .means extending through said inlet valve for piston includingia floating lever for permitting said second-named valve to closesaid suction inlet port While said first-named valve closes ofi' said release port.

3. In brake-operating ap aratus for auto motive vehicles, the com ination witha brake cylinder and a pressure-responsive brake-operating member in said cylinder, of valve `mechanism controlling the operation of said member comprising a casing provided with a release port, a suction inlet port and a brake cylinder port, and a pair ofsuperimposed leaf spring valves mounted in said casing, one of said valves controlling said release port, the other of said valves controlling said suction inlet'port, a pair of shafts, one of said shafts being manually operable and carrying a leverlarin, a floating lever pivoted intermediate its ends to said lever arm, means for operating said valves by Said floating lever to first move said first-named valve to close said release port and -then move said second-named valve to open said suction inlet port, the other of said shafts carrying a, lever arm, a lost-motion connection between said last-named arm and said pressure-responsive brake-operating member, a link connection between said last-named armand the other end of said floating lever, and mea-iis for connecting said last-named shaft to the brakes. y'

4. In brake-operating apparatus for automotive vehicles, the combination With a brake cylinder and aY pressure responsive brake-operating member in said cylinder, of control valve mechanism for the pressureresponsive brake-operating member, comprising a casing provided With a release port, a suction inlet port and a brake cylinder port connected, With said brake cylinder, and superimposed'inlet and release leaf spring valves mounted in said casing, valve-operating means under the control of the operator comprising a pair of movable plungersl respectively associated with said valves, one plungcr connected to first move said release valve to its seat and then move the other of said plungers to open the inlet valve controlling the suction inlet port, said plungers being also movable relative to each other to establish a lap position of said valves.

5. In brake-operating apparatus for automotive vehicles, the combination with a brake cylinder and a pressure responsive brakeoperating member in said cylinder, of control valve mechanism ,for the pressure-responsive break-operating member comprising a casing provided with a release port, a suction inlet port and a brake cylinder port connected with said brake cylinder, and superimposed inlet and release leaf spring valves mounted in said casing, means for'urging said valves to a releaserposition in which said inlet valve closes said suction inlet port,

moving said release valve to close said releasev port, and means for operating said inlet valve While saidl release valve lremains seated.

6. In brake-operating apparatus for automotive vehicles, the combination with a brake cylinder and a pressure responsive brake-operating member in said cylinder, of control valve mechanism for the pressure-responsive brake-operating member, comprising a casing provided with a release port, a suction inlet port and a brake cylinder port connected with said brake cylinder, and superimposed inlet and release leaf spring valves mounted in said casin valve-operating means under the control oi the operator comprising a pair of movable plungers respectively associated with said valves, one punger connected to first move said release valve to its seat and having relatively movable, yieldably -connected parts, and then move the other of said plungers to open the inlet valve controlling the suc-tion inlet port, said plunger-s being also movable relative to each other to establish a lap position of said valves.

7 In brake-operating apparatus for automotive vehicles, the combination with a brake cylinder and a pressure responsive brake-operating member in said cylinder, of control valve mechanism for the pressureresponsive brake-operating member coinprising a casing provided With a release port, a suction inlet port and a brake cylinder port connected with said brake cylinder, and superimposed inlet and release leaf spring valves mounted in said casing, means normally urging said valves to a release posi.- tion, valve-operating meansunder the control of the operator comprising a pair of movable plungers respectively associated With said valves, one plunger connected to first move said release valve to its seat and then move the other of said plungers to Open the inlet valve, said plungers being also movable relative to each other to establish a lap position and each plunger having relatively `movable, yieldably connected parts.

8. In brake operating apparatus for automotive vehicles, the combinationwith a brake cylinder and a pressure responsive brakeoperating member, of control valve mechanism for the pressure-responsive brake-operating member comprising a casing provided With a release port, a suction inlet port and a brake cylinder port connected with said brake cylinder and superimposed inlet and release spring valves mounted in said casing, valve-operating means including a pair of movable plungers respectively associated with said valves, one plunger connected to first move said release valverto its seat and then move the other of said plungers i to open the inlet valve controlling the suction inlet port, said plungers beingbalso movable relative to'each other to esta lish a lap position of said valves, an actuator for said y lungers, manually operable means for moving said actuator, and means connecting said actuator with said pressure responsive meinber for also moving said actuator to control the operation of said valve.

In testimony whereof, I affix m signature.

NIELS A. (DI-IRISF ENSEN. 

